"This might be…"
"Let me take them." Felix suddenly said, cutting Nathan off.
Nathan glanced at the former. "Are you crazy?... You are affected by their bloodlust and you want to take point?"
"Is that wrong?"
"Is that…" Nathan was cut off guard by the question. "What the hell do you mean?"
"The reason we are in this dungeon is to help me level up, no?... So how would that happen if you keep on handling the bulk of the situation?"
"That's…" Nathan pursed his lips.
Felix took a deep breath to calm his nerves before taking a step forward. "When up against the golems, you helped free us from the constraints so I had no objections but this time… let me handle it."
"You might die."
Felix looked over with a smirk. "You won't let that happen."
"…"
"If I can't even take down these mindless monstrosities, what right do I have to deal with the Demirs?"
"Risking your life isn't smart."
Felix took another step forward. "Indeed. But how can I improve if I don't take the risk?"
"Why, you…" Nathan clicked his tongue as he found himself unable to refute Felix's words.
Taking a moment to mull it over at which point the chimeras began to make their way forward, Nathan sighed helplessly, putting his arms up in defeat.
"Fine, do what you want. Don't come crying to me if you lose an arm or two."
Felix retrieved the Multi-shot Pulse Gun, wielding both gun and sword before turning his attention to the approaching chimeras.
"Don't worry… I won't make a sound even if I lose a limb."
Nathan's jaw dropped. "I didn't mean that!"
Alas, his words could as well have been directed at the wind as Felix darted forward without warning.
Suddenly, goosebumps broke out on his skin, causing Felix to pause momentarily at which point Aya's voice was heard.
[Notice. Chaos energy detected attempting to infiltrate host's body, initiating defense mechanisms]
[Notice. Energy levels have been halved]
[Notice. Please be careful with energy usage. The moment system energy is exhausted, we would have no means to defend against the dungeon's attempt at assimilating you]
Felix frowned as the chimeras ran toward him, quickly closing the distance.
Nathan grew tense, barely suppressing the urge to act as he knew Felix wanted to handle things himself.
'He can handle it. If it gets out of hand, I can always jump in…'
"Come on, move!... Why are you just standing there?"
Felix ignored Nathan as he asked. "Is it possible to absorb the soul essence of the chimeras?"
[Notice. The system is not at a level where it can create a mechanism to filter out the corresponding chaos energy residing within all dungeon inhabitants]
"So there's no way to recover the exhausted energy?"
[Indeed]
"…This is troublesome," Felix muttered as aimed his gun at the closest chimera.
Bang
A single shot but it only managed to hit its shoulder and that was not enough to bring down the creature which was as large as a grizzly bear.
"I can barely get a good shot in without the system."
[That seems to be the case]
Aya sounded disappointed for some reason.
Felix's eyebrow twitched ad he slowly lowered the gun.
Maybe he had been a bit hasty but he was already taking point, going back would only hurt his pride.
Taking a deep breath, he pondered for a moment before aiming again.
This time, the chimera he shot was a few meters away, preparing to lunge at him when he shot it.
Bang…bang
The first shot struck its chest and the second, its neck but this didn't deter it as it paused for a brief moment before leaping forward.
Brandishing his blade, Felix didn't dodge, instead, he rushed forward and cleaved the monster without hesitation.
Like a hot knife through butter, the sword cut the chimera into two halves with its black blood splattering everywhere.
Felix was about to comment when Aya's voice came again.
[Notice. Further chaos energy detected, more energy is needed for protection]
Once again, his eyebrows twitched.
"Oi, what the hell are you doing?... The second rule of dungeon clearing is never let the blood of dungeon monsters touch you because it contains chaos energy!" Nathan's warning came in a… timely manner?
Felix turned to glare at the former, restraining the urge to curse him out.
Unfortunately, he barely had the time to do that as he was quickly surrounded by more chimeras.
These seemed to be the fastest amongst the bunch as the others were separated into two factions; those that charged forward and those that circled.
Despite their maddened bloodlust, it seemed their basic instincts remained.
Nathan was forced to keep his eyes on both sides.
Meanwhile, Felix brandished his sword before switching the mode of the Multi-shot Pulse Gun.
"Since I can't hit it with a single attack, I'll just spam. Is there a problem with that, Aya?"
[Notice. Not at all. Creating Pulse bullets requires less energy than utilizing a skill. Would you like to use Analyst?]
"Are you teasing me right now?"
[Notice. Impossible….]
Felix clicked his tongue as he aimed the gun at the first chimera to attack.
Unlike a single shot, the bullet was more streamlined but rushed out in a wave.
In a second, the monster was turned into a rag as holes appeared all over its body.
With a groan, it dropped to the ground with a thud.
"Much better."
Just as the others were about to rush him together, Felix charged at the nearest chimera and cut it down before using the opportunity to slip out of the encirclement.
Once out, he returned his blade.
[Request to manufacture a second Multi-shot Pulse Gun has been received]
[Manufacturing now, please standby]
[Process complete]
[Please be mindful that with the amount of Ordena left, Inner Form breathing can't keep up with the expenditure]
"Tch, I know that," Felix replied as he retrieved the second gun and unleashed a flurry of bullets.
Without bothering to aim, he stood in place and spun around until he was dizzy, emptying the magazine before a quick reload took effect, allowing him to continue without pause.
Nathan was unsure of how to feel about Felix's rudimentary approach.
No plan whatsoever, no fancy skill… just plain old, random bullshit go!